Of Thieves and Beggars
by DataGrowth
Summary: Ruby Rose doesn't steal because she's a bad person. She steals because she needs to survive. Life is hard against those without much money. However, after meeting one very special person, Ruby comes to realize that money isn't something that she actually needs in order to be happy. After all, real happiness comes from the things that we often taken for granted. [WHITEROSE AU]
1. Chapter 1

"Thief! Stop!" the guard yelled, drawing his sword and sprinting after the small, cloaked figure that ran ahead of him. He angrily pushed aside a pedestrian, scattering the box of cabbages that the man was holding.

"My cabbages!" The man exclaimed as his produce tumbled about the floor below.

"Stop!" The guard yelled again, waving his sword frantically. While the guard was tall and well built, he was nowhere near as fast or agile as the small, hooded figure that he was running after. The thief darted in and out of the busy crowd, navigating expertly through the packed marketplace of Mistral. Gracefully executing a perfect summersault over a large meat stand, Ruby Rose grinned. She landed gracefully on her feet, not missing a single step as she continued to leave the guard further and further behind. Part of the reason that she even stole in the first place was because of the chase. She thoroughly enjoyed leaving the market guards in the dust. Ruby grinned once more as she double-kong vaulted over another crate, leaving the pursuing guard, once again, breathless as he circled around it.

Out of the corner of Ruby's eye, she spotted three more guards approaching from her right side. "_Looks like they're finally getting smart enough to call for backup,"_ Ruby thought to herself jovially. She took a sharp left, ducking and weaving through the various people that scattered the streets. "_Sheesh, by the time this is over, these guys are going to make me lose more energy than I would have even gained by the apples I stol-err, borrowed!_"

Suddenly, Ruby ran headfirst into a large pair of arms. Shaking her head, she looked up and realized with dread that it was another guard. Not just regular guard either. His bright red cloak indicated that he held the rank of an officer, likely that of a captain. And to make things worse, next to him was yet another guard. _Six_ guards? A look of concern quickly passed over the young girl's face when she realized that she was trapped in both directions.

The captain grabbed Ruby by her collar. He pulled his ugly face close to hers, exposing her to his foul smelling breath. "Now what have we got here?" He grinned. "A pretty little thing like you might find it dangerous on these crowded streets, eh?" Ruby lashed out hard with her foot, bringing it crashing into the spot between the captain's legs. He dropped her and fell to the floor, wheezing. Turning quickly, Ruby swung her bag of apples at the other guard's face as hard as she could. He dropped his sword and brought his hands to his eyes.

Ruby pushed past him and began to run again. Sweat stung her eyes. The other four guards were catching up to her. Ruby was in a bad position. The street that she had chosen to take was one that was relatively kept clear from vendors and merchants. That meant there were less obstacles that she could have used to slow the guards down. Ruby poured more energy into her legs, pleading them to go faster. However, it was to no avail. Ruby felt a heavy force tackle her from behind, sending her crashing to the floor. The bag of apples fell from Ruby's hands as her face slid across the rough, stone floor. Tears of pain immediately welled up in her eyes.

"Get on your feet, you little _rat_," she heard a familiar voice spit at her. Ruby was painfully grabbed and jerked to her feet, causing her to cry out. Once again, Ruby found herself face to face with the captain of the guards that she had kicked earlier.

"While the law prevents me from actually ending your miserable little life, it says nothing about dishing out a little _punishment_ of my own," He scowled at her. His face changed to a sinister grin. He motioned to the other guards with his head. Immediately, Ruby felt herself pinned to the nearest wall: A flower shop. Her bloodied face was pushed into the white bricks, causing Ruby to moan painfully. A second guard grabbed her hand and roughly jerked it away from her body. He held it against the wall.

"_What is going on?"_ Ruby thought to herself. She didn't like how this was turning out. She needed a plan, and fast. Ruby heard the sound of a sword being unsheathed. She managed to turn her head to see the captain lining up his sword against Ruby's wrist. As realization of his intentions began to dawn on Ruby, panic began to set in. Tears of desperation began to form in Ruby's eyes as she thrashed frantically against the forces that kept her restrained to the wall. It was no use.

"Looks like you won't be able to steal anymore without this little hand of yours, wretch," he sneered. The guard began to raise his sword. Ruby struggled harder.

"NO!" She screamed. "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!_"_ Ruby flailed around frantically. However, as tough as she might have been for her age, there was no way that she could possibly budge the three burly men holding her down.

Suddenly, Ruby's vision turned completely red as torrent of cold, thick liquid crashed down on Ruby's head. Blinded and startled, Ruby gasped. She coughed and blinked hard. As she regained vision, the first thing that her eyes focused on was the glistening beads of red liquid that rolled down the arm of the guard that was pinning her down. "_Paint?"_ Ruby asked herself, confused. Then, Ruby realized that she wasn't the only one who had been soaked. The guards around her were coughing, sputtering, and cursing. Ruby quickly regained her focus. Taking advantage of the guards' confused state, Ruby pushed as hard as she could against the two guards that were holding her and broke free from their grasps.

Ruby stumbled over something—the bag of apples that she had stolen. Quickly scooping it up, Ruby ran. She ran like she had never run before. Turning back once, Ruby caught a vision of a girl that was standing on top of the flower shop she had been under. The girl watched her as she ran. A glimpse of white hair was the only thing that Ruby managed to see before she hastily turned back around and fled the scene.

* * *

"Ruby _please_, this has _got_ to stop!" Yang said, pressing the bag of ice against Ruby's bloody forehead. "It's too dangerous!"

"I messed up okay?" Ruby said, wincing at the pain on her face. "The guards just got lucky this time… It isn't going to happen again!"

"That's _not_ what I mean and you know it!" Yang exclaimed. She sat down next to Ruby and looked her sadly in the eye. "I never should have let you start this habit in the first place. Ruby, you could seriously be doing something great with your life but you're putting it on the line for what? A bag of _apples_?"

"You and I both know how much we need _all _the extra food that we can get. You just lost another job, and we're not exactly living like kings here!" Ruby cried, throwing her hands out in indication of the run down little room that they lived in.

"I know Ruby, I know," Yang said, blinking back tears. "But I'm not going to let you lose your _HAND_ just because _I_ haven't been a very good sister to you."

"Yang, don't say that," Ruby said sadly. "I know how hard it is for you. Please, you know I'm only trying to help."

Yang looked up. "Then please Ruby. Get yourself a _safer_ job. Promise me."

Ruby sighed. She looked out the one window in their room out into the evening air. "Okay Yang. I promise," Ruby said. Yang leaned in and hugged her tightly.

"Thanks sis. I'm going to go see if I can find something cheap at the market for breakfast tomorrow," Yang said standing up. She headed towards the door, but stopped before she reached it. Yang turned around. "And thanks Ruby," she said, tossing an apple in the air and catching it. "I know you have a good heart, kid." Then she disappeared out the door.

Ruby sighed and flopped down on the mattress she had found about a year ago on the streets. Why did things have to be so difficult for the two of them? Ever since mom had died and dad had disappeared, fortune had done nothing to favor them. Yang worked so hard to support the two of them, but as an uneducated young girl, it was difficult to make ends meet.

It wasn't that Ruby didn't want to have a job. She just knew that if she went hunting to go find one, she was sure to meet the same sort of discrimination that she knew Yang did. Because the two lived by themselves with very little money, Ruby knew that she didn't have a very good image to start with. Add to the fact that society placed more value on males, it was indeed a very difficult task to find any sort of job that didn't require you to take your clothes off.

Ruby removed the ice pack from her face and sighed. As she stared at her blood that stained the white pack of ice, she thought back to the events that happened earlier that day. Specifically, her thoughts fell on that girl with the white hair that had dropped that bucket of paint on her and the guards.

"_Why did she do that for me?" _Ruby thought to herself. "_Could it have been an accident?"_ All of her life, Ruby was used to being treated like a second-rate human being. Her lack of both parents and money automatically branded her as a dirty, lazy girl to the people that knew her. Why would this specific girl ever go out of her way to save Ruby-a person that she didn't even know? Ruby shut her eyes. She hoped that the red paint would at least wash off of her clothes._  
_

Ruby's stomach rumbled. She closed her eyes and put her pillow on her face. Three apples were not enough to be considered a proper meal. Especially if that meal was the only one to last the entire day. Groaning out loud to nobody in particular, Ruby turned over and tried to ignore the pain of her hunger. Sleep was the only option for now. Ruby calmed her mind and thought of living a happier life. Soon, Ruby was fast asleep.

* * *

**Hey, DataGrowth here. I've been crazy busy these past few weeks with catching up on school related things. Sorry if I haven't updated any of my other stories lately, I promise that I haven't abandoned them. I just struggle to find time to work on them. As for this story in particular, I was hit by inspiration after watching something that I simply could not ignore, and this was the result. Hope you enjoy it.**


	2. Chapter 2

Ruby's eyes slowly opened to meet the fresh rays of sunshine that radiantly streamed through the rusted windows. Immediately, her stomach growled to remind her of how hungry she was. Ruby groaned. She was having such a nice dream about _not_ living in the slums of Mistral. Letting out a large yawn, Ruby sat up. What time was it? Where was Yang? Ruby looked around and spotted a little white parchment on the small circular table that she and Yang ate at. Well, whenever they had food to eat at least. Ruby trotted over to the parchment and picked it up. On it was Yang's messy handwriting.

_Hey Rubes, went out to search for another job. There's some bread by this note. _

_FIND A JOB TODAY_

_- Your lovely sister, YANG_

Ruby exhaled. Right, there was that job thing that she needed to work on. Putting the note aside, Ruby spotted the small half-loaf of bread that sat on the table. It was a type of bread that Ruby had become very familiar with—small, grainy and unfilling. She could tell that Yang had given her a bigger half than herself. Ruby frowned sadly. The things that Yang did for her… it just made Ruby sad that she couldn't ever sufficiently return the favor.

After choking down the dry lump of an excuse for bread, Ruby went outside to go check on her cloak. Yang had tried her best to get the paint out of her previously black piece of clothing, but after rubbing on the material for ten minutes with no results, she had given up and just dumped it into a bucket full of water with hopes that the paint might come out overnight. However, just as Ruby expected, after peering into the large, murky bucket, she could tell that the water had done little to wash out the paint. Her cloak was still a shade of bright red. Not only that, but the messy way that the paint was splattered about very literally resembled how a cloak would look like after having a bucket of paint tipped over on one's head while wearing it.

Ruby picked the cloak out of the water and began wringing it dry.

"Guess I'll just have to look like a freak until I get a new cloak," Ruby said out loud. "Which will probably not be in a very, _very_ long time," she added softly under her breath. Ruby hung the cloak on the side of the bucket and went back inside to go freshen up. She had a long day in front of her.

* * *

As Ruby strolled through the market with no particular destination in mind, she had to strongly resist the urge to pocket a few of the deliciously easy to steal foods that were so openly displayed on the market stalls around her.

"_No Ruby,"_ She scolded herself after passing a particularly juicy looking tomato. "_Look for a job, not for a meal. The meal comes after the job. You promised Yang."_

Reaching the end of the street she was walking on, Ruby found herself in front of a pub with a **NOW HIRING** sign nailed to the front door. Shrugging, Ruby entered the building. Instantly, she was hit full on by the noisiness of the room. The place was absolute chaos. Customers were yelling and fighting, and there were a few people passed out—from drinking, from fighting, maybe both—in various places around the building. Ruby ducked as a glass beer bottle sailed over her head and exploded over the wall behind her.

"HEY, YOU CAN'T DO THAT!" A deep voice boomed from the middle of the room.

"KISS MY ASS!" Another voice screamed out in reply.

Moments later, Ruby saw the body of a man flying over the crowd and landing near the door where Ruby was standing. Ruby took a cautious step away. Never before had she seen such an uncivilized place in her life. She watched silently as the man got up while cursing and exited the building.

A large hand grabbed Ruby's shoulder from behind, causing her to jump. "And what is a little thing like you doing at a place designed for men?" The deep voice came from above Ruby. She turned to find a large man in a stained tank top standing behind her. He smelled strongly of beer, and had a scary look in his eyes that made Ruby feel uneasy.

"I… I'm looking for a job," Ruby said meekly. The man eyeballed the young girl in front of her. He was silent for a moment as he studied her intently.

"Hmm," He mused. "I doubt you're even of legal age… but I'm sure I can get you a comfortable job here, missy." He said, a large grin appearing on his face. It made Ruby feel even more uncomfortable.

"R—really?" Ruby asked. "That would be great because-" Ruby stopped mid-sentence in horror as the man reached down and firmly grasped her bottom.

"A room in my office is where _you_ belong, _girl_."

For the second day in a row, Ruby nailed a man hard between the legs. He let go of Ruby instantly and dropped to his knees. "_This place is disgusting,"_ she thought to herself bitterly as the man gasped in pain in front of her. Ruby stomped out of the pub and back into the cold air of the outside. She took a deep breath. This was exactly the reason why she didn't want to do this. She let out another exasperated sigh and walked back down the street she came from.

* * *

Ruby didn't have much luck anywhere else during the rest of the day. Several places that she had stopped at were nice enough not to make rude remarks, but the majority didn't offer such a courtesy. After wandering around the marketplace after being turned down from her seventh job attempt, Ruby found a quieter road with a bench to sit down on and put her head in her knees. This was absolutely hopeless. Nobody wanted to hire an uneducated girl of her age. She was about as useful to society as a horse was in the water.

Ruby's stomach growled loudly. She fought back tears as she thought of how bleak her future really was. How bleak her _present_ was. Was this all she was ever going to be worth? Turned down from even the lowest of job positions? A tear escaped from the corner of her eye.

"PLEASE! NO!" Ruby heard the voice of a girl cry out desperately down the road. "This was my mother's… please you can have _anything _else." Ruby looked towards the source of noise. There was a large man pointing a dagger towards a hooded girl, who was clutching her hand protectively. Ruby sighed. Armed robbery was a very common thing on the streets of Mistral. Even during broad daylight, it wasn't necessarily a strange sight to see during the busy hours of the market.

The man backhanded the girl hard, making her fall over. Ruby watched as the man grabbed the girl's hand and ripped something off of her finger-presumably a ring. Then he hastily turned around and began to flee in the direction of Ruby.

Ruby exhaled in disgust. While Ruby herself was obviously a thief, she only did it because she had no other choice. And whenever possible, she at least had the decency to target only the least expensive items from food stalls. She never stole anything apart from food. Stealing things of sentiment—that was despicable in her opinion. Ruby watched with hard eyes as the man ran closer towards where she was sitting.

"Please, somebody stop him!" Ruby heard the girl cry out again. She turned. The hood had fallen off the girl's head to reveal—white hair? Ruby's expression immediately changed. In the split second of the man passing her by, Ruby lunged forward without necessarily realizing what she was doing. She caught him by the arm, causing him to tumble to the ground.

"Get off of me, you little _brat!" _He spat at her, trying to shake her off. Ruby stayed firmly latched onto the man's arm, holding on tightly as the man attempted to stand. Seeing an opportunity, she located the hand that held the ring and bit down hard on it. He screamed and let go, causing the ring to fall to the floor.

_WHAM_!

Ruby's vision went momentarily black as she felt a blunt force heavily strike her skull. Ruby let go of the man and fell to the floor. In her struggle to stay conscious, she watched as the blurred shape of the man drew something from his belt—his dagger. Acting hastily, she quickly shook off her daze and rolled to the side as the man stabbed downwards.

A crowd began to form in the street around them. The man, seeing as he was in a bad position, made the smart decision and quickly fled the scene. Ruby closed her eyes and held her hand to her face where she had been hit. She winced at her own touch.

"_Great, that's two injuries to my face. Nobody will want to hire a girl with a messed up face."_ Ruby thought to herself. She slowly rolled off the floor onto her knees, groaning all the way. As she put her hand on the floor to momentarily get her balance, she felt the indent of a circle press back against her skin—the ring. Ruby grabbed it and stood up.

The ring itself was made of white gold. The center held a beautiful light blue sapphire, encompassed by a silver snowflake. Streaks of ruby etched the sides of the ring around it, giving the ring a very unique but pretty color tone.

Ruby heard the sound of running behind her and turned to see the girl approaching her. As she stopped in front of her, Ruby froze. If the ring was something that was considered beautiful, the girl standing in front of her was easily a hundred times more beautiful.

She had a pale complexion that complemented her long, white hair that she had tied up into an uneven ponytail. Her lips looked soft and luscious and… inviting. Everything about her face was perfect, but the thing that stood out the most was easily her dazzling, bright blue eyes that shone far brighter than any sapphire ever could. Ruby caught her breath as the girl leaned over and gave Ruby a tight hug. Instantly, the smell of flowers attacked Ruby's nose.

"Thank you _so_ much," the girl cried out, clutching Ruby tightly to her own body. She pulled away from the hug and looked Ruby in the eyes. "You have no _idea_ how much this ring means to me."

Ruby simply nodded. "I…uh… yeah. N-no problem," She stuttered out dumbly. "I… Yeah." She said again awkwardly.

Inwardly, Ruby hit herself. "_Way to go Ruby,"_ She thought to herself. "_You are such an idiot." _There was an uncomfortable silence.

"Umm…" The girl said, breaking the silence. "May I… have the ring back?"

"Oh right! Yeah, sorry… here," Ruby quickly said, holding out the ring. The girl took it and slid it back onto her finger.

"Thank you so much!" She said again. Ruby watched as the girl closed her eyes and clutched her hand tightly to her chest tightly, as if she was scared she would lose the ring again. Then she looked up and blinked. "Aren't you… that girl that was caught by the guards for stealing yesterday?" She inquired, her voice taking on a more cautious tone.

"_So I was right,"_ Ruby thought to herself. "_She really _was_ the girl that poured the paint on the guards."_

"Yeah," Ruby said, looking down. "I… yeah. That was me." There was another silence.

"But… if you're a… thief yourself…" She said slowly. "Why would you choose to stop the thief that was robbing me?"

Ruby was silent for a while. "I guess it was the same reason why you helped me yesterday even though there was no need to." The girl looked away and nodded.

Once again, another silence. The girl twisted her ring around her finger, saying nothing.

Ruby decided to speak. "My name is Ruby," She said, slowly. Ruby looked up into the other girl's eyes. "What's your name?"

"Weiss." The girl replied, meeting Ruby's gaze. "My name is Weiss Schnee."


	3. Chapter 3

"That looks pretty bad," Weiss said worriedly, stopping to get a closer look at the rapidly swelling bruise on Ruby's face. It felt about two inches wide.

"It's nothing," Ruby said, turning the other way. "Nothing worse than I've dealt with before, at least." She was telling the truth. Life on the streets was often unforgiving towards the body. Ruby had received injuries on so many different parts of her body that she'd stopped keeping track years ago.

Ruby felt cold fingers gently touch her chin and turn her head back around. She looked to find Weiss biting the bottom of her lip as she studied the bruise. "No… that won't do…" she heard Weiss murmur gently to herself. "Arnica would do the trick… maybe some lavender or calendula…" She continued to look intricately at her face.

"W-Weiss…?" Ruby asked after a few seconds. Weiss blinked.

"Sorry," She said embarrassedly. "Here, come with me. I have something that can help with that bruise of yours."

"No, really, it's noth-" Ruby started, but stopped as Weiss grabbed her wrist and began dragging her away. "Ohhhhkay. Guess I'm going with you then."

* * *

Ruby's eyes widened as she and Weiss approached a familiar looking white-stoned building.

"The flower shop?" Ruby asked quizzically as they reached the door. The two large windows on the face of the building were dark, and a '**BE BACK SOON**' sign hung from the inside of the door. "You need to, uh, buy something first? It looks like it's closed."

"No, I own this flower shop." Weiss replied, stopping and digging through the pouch on her side. She pulled out a key and swiftly unlocked the door. _Owned?_ This girl _owned_ the flower shop? Ruby blinked. She looked hardly older than Ruby herself. Maybe Yang's age at most.

"Are you going to come in?" Weiss's voice came from in front of Ruby, interrupting her thoughts. Ruby looked up. Weiss was holding the door open for her with an inquiring look on her face.

"Sorry," Ruby apologized, quickly walking through the open door. Immediately, she was hit by the same delicious, flowery scent that she had smelled on Weiss earlier that day. Ruby inhaled deeply through her nose, taking in what she could before the scent faded.

Ruby heard the door close accompanied by the sound of the bells on the door jingling. "Okay, you wait here," Weiss said, walking towards the back of the store. "I'm going to go get something."

"Okey dokey," Ruby replied as Weiss disappeared behind a door. After she had been gone for a few seconds, Ruby exhaled and took a better look around at her surroundings. The walls of the room were white, matching the exterior white-stoned theme of the building. However, unlike the outside of the building, the tops of the walls were bordered by the same pastel blue and dark red that Ruby had noticed on Weiss's ring. "_Her favorite colors probably,_" Ruby mused to herself.

The room itself was organized into neat rows, each containing a large variety of flowers. Flowers lined the walls as well as parts of the ceiling for aesthetic appeal. There were so many different types and colors that Ruby couldn't help but wonder if customers ever got lost in them.

Weiss emerged from the back room holding a bowl and… one of those sticks that people grinded stuff with. What was it called again? Ruby knew that the bowl was called a mortar, but couldn't remember the rest. She watched in interest as Weiss went about the different rows of flowers, plucking off various amounts petals into her hand from the ones she was looking for. After stopping at four different flowers, she headed back towards the counter and filled the bowl with a small amount of water from a tap attached to the wall. Then, she emptied the petals from her hand into the bowl and began to mash them up with her… ugh, what _was _it called? It started with a 'P." Like pus… or pas… or…

"A PESTLE!" Ruby cried out with excitement as the word finally popped into her head.

"Sorry?" Ruby heard Weiss say from the counter, who had paused her work due to Ruby's outburst.

"I… The thing… Sorry," Ruby said, turning the same color as her cloak and turning the other way, embarrassed. "_God, I'm such an idiot,"_ Ruby thought to herself angrily.

"Ruby?" Weiss called out from behind her. Ruby turned again, hoping she still wasn't as red as she felt. Weiss beckoned Ruby over to her, so Ruby approached the counter. She looked on as Weiss reached under the counter and brought out a cloth. She soaked it into the bowl and took it back out. Straightening up, Weiss made her way over to Ruby and gently placed the wet cloth on Ruby's face.

Ruby could smell Weiss's intoxicating fragrance from where Weiss was standing. If Ruby felt any pain from the pressure being applied to her bruise, she sure didn't notice.

"You're going to have to keep this on here for quite a while to feel any significant effects," Weiss said, looking Ruby in the eye. "If you're not too busy, you could just wait here for now."

Was she busy? She still needed to find a job. And a meal. Preferably both. After all, she _did_ promise Yang that she would try her hardest today. As a matter of fact, Ruby probably had already wasted enough time making the trip here.

"Nah, I got nothing much I need to get done today," Ruby said.

"Great!" Weiss replied. "After that, we can pick up something to eat. I didn't exactly add getting robbed to my meal plans earlier today."

Ruby blinked a few times. "Pick up like… from the market?" Ruby asked nervously, suddenly observing the floor tiles like they were the most interesting thing in the world.

"Yes… is there… a problem with that?" Weiss asked, concerned.

"I… umm," Ruby said. She twisted her finger from her free hand around her cloak like she often did whenever she was nervous about something. "I don't have any money… on me."

"Oh…" Weiss said, slightly taken aback. However, she quickly recovered. "Well, that's not a problem at all. After all, that ring you saved for me was easily worth a hundred meals to start with. We can grab something fast if that's better for you."

"I… I don't know," Ruby said even quieter. "I guess."

"Perfect," Weiss said, seemingly not noticing Ruby's discomfort. She moved back behind the counter. "I was planning on closing shop a little bit early today anyways due to the holiday. The birth of a new princess is a pretty big deal I guess."

New princess? It was a holiday? Ruby didn't even know that. Thieves and beggars didn't get days off.

"But until then, business will likely be a little slow today, so I guess it's just you and me."

Ruby gulped. Just her and Weiss. No worries. She could do this. It's not like she was bad around people or anything. "_Who am I kidding?"_ Ruby countered herself._ "I'm _terrible_ at interacting with other people." _

"So tell me more about yourself, Ruby Rose," Weiss said, again looking at her right in the eye. Ruby looked away shyly.

"Umm, not much to tell really," Ruby confessed. "I've lived here in Mistral for my entire life, mainly holding up by myself."

Weiss was silent.

"Parents?" She asked quietly.

"Gone," Ruby replied, her face a stoic mask.

"Ah… I'm sorry." Weiss answered, pulling her gaze away from Ruby. "Does that mean you're… living all by yourself then?"

"No, I live with my older sister Yang," Ruby said. "She's probably the reason why I haven't gotten myself killed out here yet." Ruby smiled. She liked thinking about her sister. Weiss nodded, saying nothing. She looked deeply absorbed in her own thoughts.

Silence followed.

"Weiss?" Ruby asked, curiosity getting the better of her. "How old are you?"

"I'm nineteen, Ruby," Weiss said, looking back up at her. "You're probably wondering how somebody as young as me came into possession of my own building."

Ruby nodded.

Weiss was silent again for a moment, as if realizing that she made a mistake and didn't actually want to talk about her past. Ruby noticed her subconsciously twisting the ring on her finger. "It's a long story." She said finally. She took a deep breath. "I... originally came from Atlas, a kingdom east of here. My father was quite... wealthy to say so for the least. About a year ago, I left my home and came to Mistral. Then I bought this flower shop."

There was a pause. After a moment, Ruby realized that Weiss was done talking. That was it? There seemed to be a lot more to her story that Weiss was leaving out. _"Then again,"_ Ruby thought. _"There's a lot of things that I'd rather not have Weiss find out about me too. I have no right to pry into her past."_

Ruby studied Weiss's face. She held a strange expression. It was a mixture of melancholy, pain... maybe guilt?

Suddenly, the store door opened, accompanied by the sound of the bells to that were attached to the door. A girl with long, black hair entered the store. She was very pretty, and stood at about her own height.

"Hi Weiss!" The girl said cheerfully, strolling up to the store counter. "Long time no see, right?"

Weiss quickly changed her facial expression as she looked towards the door. "_Again_ Carol?" she exclaimed in an exasperated voice. "This is the third time you've been in here in two weeks!"

The girl, who Ruby assumed was named Carol, grinned. "Aaron and I have this little contest to see who can bring the nicest looking flowers each time we meet up with each other. He and I both agree that I've won every time. Because of your skill in arranging them, obviously."

Weiss blushed and smiled softly. "Well I'm glad to hear that," she said. "How can I help you today?"

"Hmmmmmm," Carol said, moving her eyes towards the ceiling as she thought. "Well I have nothing in particular that comes to mind today. Can you improvise something for me?"

"Of course," Weiss said, standing up. She moved from the counter and back into the little jungle of flowers in the middle of the store. Carol seemingly noticed Ruby for the first time.

"Ouch, that bruise looks painful," She said, frowning. "What happened?"

"I… umm, ran into a pole," Ruby mumbled softly. She didn't feel like explaining the whole thing to her.

Carol gave her a strange look. "Oh… hope you feel better soon," she said softly.

"Thanks," Ruby replied.

"Are you a friend of Weiss's?" Carol asked.

Was she a friend of Weiss? Ruby honestly didn't know the answer to that. She didn't really know what Weiss viewed her as.

"You could… say that," Ruby said, finding the folds of her cloak and twisting them between her fingers.

"How is this?" Ruby heard Weiss's voice come from one of the rows. She emerged holding a bouquet of assorted flowers, each complementing the others to form a perfect blend of just the right colors. In the center was a cluster of white flowers that was distinctly set apart from the rest of the flowers.

Carol's face lit up. "Ohmigosh, those are _perfect!_" She squealed in excitement. "The white flowers in the center are absolutely gorgeous!"

"Yes," Weiss said with her own content smile. "The white rose, my personal favorite. Symbolizes innocence, pure love, and new beginnings. Would you like a ribbon to go with this?"

"Yes, please," Carol replied, approaching the counter to pay for the bouquet. She took out a little bag and pulled out a few pieces of copper. "Thanks so much Weiss!" Carol said, gathering her things. "See you again soon!"

"Take care," Weiss called behind her. "Say hi to Aaron for me!"

"Will do!" Carol called back, exiting the store.

The door closed with a chime of bells and, once again, the store was silent. Ruby watched quietly as Weiss recounted her money and began to store it.

"You seem to have a good relationship with your customers," Ruby said, thinking of something to say to break the silence.

"I do indeed," Weiss said while scribbling something down on a note. "Good for business, good for staying happy."

Ruby frowned. She wouldn't know about that. The last time she had anybody that she could have even considered a 'friend' was back before she had escaped the orphanage with Yang. And even then, the majority of the kids in the crowded, miserable little building were often rude and selfish. It wasn't a time that Ruby liked to think about, so she let the memory disappear from her mind.

Ruby heard the sound of a drawer closing, indicating that Weiss was done with whatever she was doing.

"Okay, let me take a look at that bruise again," Weiss said, approaching Ruby. Ruby removed the bundled cloth from her face, taking a breath as she felt the warmer air of the room counter the cold, dampness of the cloth that had been pressed against her face. Weiss looked closely at the bruise, subtly turning Ruby's head with her fingers. "It looks like we were able to stop the swelling from getting too bad in time, but it's still a pretty nasty little thing," Weiss said. "How do you feel?"

"_Like an idiot,"_ Ruby thought inwardly to herself.

"It doesn't really hurt that much," she answered.

Ruby noted Weiss's skeptical look. "Really, I'm fine! See?" Ruby exclaimed, poking her bruise with her finger. Pain instantly attacked her face. "Ow," she muttered, wincing softly. The word 'idiot' wasn't even a strong enough word to describe how she felt at this point.

"Uh-huh," Weiss said, unconvinced. "Well unfortunately, the mixture that I made only helps with swelling and healing. Any pain that you might feel before, during, and after will simply have to be dealt with by yourself."

"That's fine," Ruby said again. "I've had to endure much worse in the past, trust me." Weiss gave Ruby a look that Ruby couldn't quite interpret.

"Wow so, you know a lot about flowers then." Ruby said, quickly changing the subject.

"That I do," Weiss replied, turning back to the counter. "It is my job after all."

"But you don't know how to make painkillers though?"

"Of course I know how make a pain killer," Weiss said, rolling her eyes. "Unfortunately, taking it would likely stop your heart in the process, so unless you're _really_ willing to try new things, I would advise staying away from it for now."

Ruby smiled. "Right, I'll stick with my heart beating for now." Then, her stomach growled loudly. Ruby wondered if she had set the record for the most times a person could turn red in a single day. Weiss just laughed.

"Good, so I'm not the only one that feels that way right now then," she said. "I might as well close shop now so we can go. It seems past the point of day where people might still come in for flowers to celebrate the day anyways. Are you set to go?"

Ruby nodded again.

"Alright then, give me a few minutes to lock up and we'll be on our way."

* * *

**A/N: Whoops, I'm not exactly sure what I did but I ended up deleting this chapter on accident xP. Sorry for the fake notif to all my followers/favs!**


	4. Chapter 4

Ruby stuck closely to Weiss as the pair made their way through the market. She felt uneasy. Walking through the crowds in such a carefree way felt… oddly surreal. There was always some sort of objective that ran through Ruby's mind whenever she was in this place. What foods to steal—Where the guards were posted—The best streets to escape to. Actually spending money? It wasn't an idea that Ruby was very familiar with. Even now, Ruby continued to subconsciously keep a lookout for guards the way she did every time she was here.

"_Is this what it's like to be… normal?"_ Ruby asked herself. She glanced around again furtively.

No, regardless of her more _innocent_ intentions this time around, her appearance still gave her away. Merchants and vendors continued to eye her like hawks, easily conveying their disapproval whenever she passed. Ruby could almost physically feel it weighing down on top of her. She slid her hood over her head and let her gaze fall to the floor.

"Is there any specific place that you want to go to?" Weiss asked nonchalantly, eyeing several of the different vendors that they passed by.

"Err… no, no specific places I have in mind today." Ruby said, masking her uneasiness with forced cheerfulness. The truth was, Ruby had never once even eaten anywhere outside of the orphanage or the room that she called home. She didn't even know how to _order_ food from a vendor.

"Oh, this is a nice place that I've been to a couple of times," Weiss said, not seeming to notice Ruby's slightly panicked expression that she was doing a poor job at hiding. "It has a pretty spot you can sit at near that pond over there," she said, pointing.

"Sounds good to me!" Ruby exclaimed, starting to sweat a little on the inside. The two began to approach the vendor. Ruby gulped. She was running out of time. How was she supposed to order food?

The vendor was a large man with an admirable mustache. He eyed the two girls as they made their way towards him. "What can I do for you fine… ladies today?" He asked with a smile, hesitatingly only slightly as he caught a glimpse of Ruby's tattered clothes and beaten up face.

"You can go first," Weiss said, slightly nudging Ruby forward with her elbow.

"R-right. First. I love going first." Ruby looked up at the man who seemingly towered over her. He stared back down at her, his mouth fixed into a smile that gave no her no hints. She looked around, hoping for something… _anything _that might give her a clue on what she was supposed to do or what to get. Her eyes darted around frantically.

"Come on Ruby," Weiss said after a moment, chuckling playfully. "It's almost as if you've never seen the menu at a food vendor before."

The menu? Where was the menu?

"HAHAHA, AS IF!" Ruby exclaimed, quickly looking towards the spot that she thought Weiss was looking.

Her eyes lit up. There, behind the man was an impossibly small, black square filled with small, white words. The sign had so many words crowded in its tiny area that it was as if they were set to burst free from the sign's borders at any given point.

"_Great." _Ruby thought, sighing. That wasn't going to help her at all. Ruby didn't know how to read very well. She could recognize several words and letters from the limited schooling she had received from the orphanage, but an entire sign filled from top to bottom with tiny scribbles? Forget it.

But that didn't matter. Both Weiss and the vendor were waiting for her to make her decision. Ruby thought quickly.

"I'll take… uh… that!" Ruby said, pointing at a random spot at the sign.

The vendor turned around to look where she was pointing. "Take err… what?" He asked, keeping his polite smile on his face.

"You know, that!" Ruby responded, keeping her finger fixated, pointing to nowhere in particular. "Riiiiiight there."

He turned around again, trying to match Ruby's finger to the tiny words of the menu. "You're pointing to… the meat pie?" He asked, trying to hide his confusion.

"Yes, yes, that one." Ruby said quickly, lowering her arm. She lowered her head breathed a slight sigh. She was done. That wasn't so bad.

"And how would you like that made?" The vendor asked, bending over to jot down Ruby's order. Ruby's head snapped back up.

"I… Umm, however you think tastes the best?" She stammered.

"Is this for now or for later?"

Later? Why would she possibly want it later? Why was it so difficult to just get something from a stupid food vendor? Ruby quite honestly had an easier time stealing food from the market than she did getting food here.

Weiss spoke up. "For here, sir," she said calmly. "The weather is too nice to eat a meal elsewhere."

* * *

"You've never ordered food at a food vendor, have you?" Weiss asked, watching Ruby's facial expression amusingly. "That meat pie is impossibly large."

Ruby's eyes snapped up to Weiss. "Whaaaaaat," Ruby said, letting out a forced laugh. "Of course I've ordered at a _food vendor_ before. Have _YOU_ ordered at a food vendor before?" Ruby asked.

Weiss smiled.

"No," Ruby said quietly, lowering her eyes to the floor. "I haven't."

There was a pause. Weiss began to laugh. Her laughter flowed like a beautiful melody being played to perfection. Ruby almost forgot her embarrassment as it danced around her ears.

Almost.

"Ruby, you are something," Weiss finally said, covering her hand over her mouth. Ruby's face turned crimson and she muttered something incomprehensible. "_I'm never leaving home ever again," _she thought darkly.

"Don't worry about it," Weiss said, still smiling brilliantly. "Just try your meat pie. I'm sure you'll like it."

Ruby looked down at the pie in her lap. It looked foreign to her. It wasn't anything like she'd ever eaten before. Ruby didn't know what to expect. She had heard of meat pies in the past, but what did they actually taste like? "_Well maybe if you stopped thinking about it and actually tried it, you might be able to find out," _Ruby mentally chided herself. She scooped out a spoonful and tentatively put it in her mouth.

Instantly her world melted around her. Her eyes involuntarily shut as she exhaled slowly through her nose. This wasn't possible. Food this good couldn't possibly exist. The texture—the warmth—everything combined so perfectly to create an explosion of pleasure in Ruby's mouth. Ruby shuddered. It was delicious. She didn't feel like she deserved her mouth anymore. She was a cruel mouth owner. It should have left her behind long ago to find a new owner, one that could feed it proper tasting food.

"I didn't realize food could taste this good," Ruby said out loud, her eyes still shut. "Makes me want to be a cook when I grow up."

Weiss's smiled. She picked up a loaf of bread that she had also ordered and broke it into two pieces. "Here then," Weiss said, handing Ruby one of the halves. "The first step of becoming a good cook is knowing what foods mix well. Try it."

Ruby nodded her thanks and took the loaf. Ruby couldn't ever be unappreciative of bread that was fresh. It was such a rare commodity in the house that she didn't think that she would ever see it as anything less than it was worth. Ruby took a bite with her meat pie.

Another explosion of flavor, but different to that of the earlier bite. Weiss was right—the bread provided a whole new texture—a whole new flavor when eaten with the meat pie. Ruby closed her eyes again, savoring the mouthful for as long as she could.

Weiss smiled again at Ruby's reaction and took another bite of her own food. She stared out over the calm waters of the pond that they sat next to. Ruby matched her gaze. It was such a beautiful day outside. She could make out various people dotted alongside the pond as well, just enjoying their lives. Her family had once taken a trip to a pond too. The pond in front of her reminded her of that happy memory. Of her mom. Of her dad. Of Yang. Ruby's thoughts shifted to Yang. She wondered if Yang was faring as well as she was right now.

"_Probably not,"_ Ruby thought to herself sadly. Ruby knew it herself—finding a job at their social class was not an easy task. The lowest paying jobs were often the ones most fought for, according to Yang.

"_A low paying job would be more than what you have accomplished today,"_ Ruby thought to herself gloomily. She stared at the spoon in her hand. What was she doing here enjoying this food? Tomorrow she was going to back out in the streets, starving once again if she didn't find employment today. Especially since she had promised Yang no more stealing. Ruby's rational side fought with Ruby to get up and start searching again.

But Ruby didn't want to move. For the first time in her life, she had something that she never had before.

A friend.

Somebody that didn't shut the door the moment they saw her ruined clothes. "_If I leave now, am I ever going have one again? Will I have the opportunity?"_ Ruby wondered. A sad look enveloped Ruby's face.

"So what were you doing out here today, Ruby?" Weiss asked, moving Ruby out of her thoughts.

"Huh?" Ruby asked, looking back at Weiss.

"Today, out in the streets. Was there any particular reason you were outside?"

Ruby hesitated. "I was actually… looking for a job."

"Really?" Weiss asked, sitting up. Ruby nodded.

Weiss was silent for a moment. "And… how is that going for you?" She finally asked.

Ruby stopped chewing and paused. Then her shoulders slumped forward. "Not that great, actually," she said, bringing her head up to look at the sky. "It's harder than I thought it would be. I mean, it's hard enough to find a job when you can't really rea—" Ruby caught herself. "Can't really… do anything useful," Ruby said, quickly substituting words into her sentence. There was no reason why Weiss had to know that she couldn't read very well.

"Well I'm sure that isn't true," Weiss said, not seeming to catch on to what Ruby had almost given away. "Everybody has his or her own talents."

"Yeah, well running around and stealing stuff usually isn't the type of talent that most job employers look for," Ruby said not realizing what had come out of her mouth until she had already said it. She winced at her own words. If Weiss hadn't come to a complete understanding of what Ruby did for a living, she definitely knew now.

Weiss, however, remained silent. She displayed no hint of fear or disgust, as was the typical reaction when people realized just what Ruby was. Instead she looked… Ruby didn't know how to describe it. Pensive? Sympathetic? That couldn't be right. Nobody was sympathetic towards a thief.

But Weiss… she was different. Right from the very start, Weiss had been different. Nobody had ever treated Ruby this way. Not the way that Weiss was treating her right now.

"How far do you live from here?" Weiss finally asked.

"I… not very far…?" Ruby said, confused about the sudden change in topic. Weiss bit her lip. Why was she biting her lip? Ruby was beyond confused at this point.

"Well…" Weiss said, hesitantly. "How would you feel about working for me at the flower shop?"

Ruby stopped. What was that she just said?

"Maybe it was a coincidence," Weiss continued." But the reason _I_ was outside today was actually to look for help with my flower shop."

Ruby was speechless. She lowered her spoon. "I… flowers…?" She repeated dumbly.

"It would just be for a few odd things, like running errands or cleaning up and such. The pay wouldn't be that bad… but, well better than those other minimum wage jobs that you might have been searching for," Weiss said, looking down at her lap. She suddenly looked back up at Ruby, as if realizing what she just said. "N-not that you might have been searching for a minimum wage job or anything. That's not what I—"

"I'll do it!" Ruby interrupted. She almost couldn't believe the opportunity. She lived only about ten minutes away from the shop. And to build on that, she would get to know Weiss better. If there was anything on her bucket list that topped surviving each day and moving out of the excuse she had for a house, it was probably to get to know Weiss better. This was everything that Ruby had been looking for today.

Weiss pursed her lips. "Okay," she said. "The shop opens at eight. Do you need directions?"

"No," Ruby replied. "I know my way around these streets quite well." That much was true. She had slept in these streets more often than Weiss probably could have even imagined. Another thing that Ruby didn't quite need to reveal.

Weiss simply nodded. She eyed Ruby's half eaten pie. "Are you going to try to finish that?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Actually, I was thinking about saving it for Yang. It isn't often that we get this sort of food," Ruby replied. That much was true. Weiss nodded again.

"Well if you don't mind, there are a few things that I need to get done before the day is over," Weiss spoke, starting to stand. "Tomorrow at eight then?"

"I won't be late," Ruby said, smiling.

Weiss smiled back at Ruby one more time. Then she turned and began to leave. Ruby watched her walk away. Her long, white hair shimmered in the sun as it swayed to match her steps. Finally, she reached the street and disappeared into the busy crowd.

Ruby sat back and let out a deep sigh of content. She stared out over the calm waters of the pond and smiled. She didn't often have a reason to feel content. It was a refreshing experience, one that she hoped would last her at least a little bit longer.

* * *

**A/N: Hey readers, I'm so sorry about the super long delay in posting this chapter. I was recovering from a pretty bad breakup, and to add to that my schoolwork just kind of built up on me due to the way I was neglecting to do it. The first quarter just passed, so hopefully I'll be able to manage my time a little bit better. I'm not going to be able to post as frequently as I would like to, but hopefully whenever I have the time, I'll be able to get in a chapter or two. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed chapter four. If you have any feedback or questions, be sure to leave a review!**

**- DataGrowth**


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